Calgary Alberta to Porteau Cove British Columbia

And My World Trembles . . .

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since my last travelogue when I had arrived in Calgary to officiate at the wedding of my cousin, Colleen. It was a wonderful experience to gather together as family and I was deeply honoured to be able to serve my family in this way. Colleen and Jamie chose to be married in their home, and so part of my duties included transforming their living and dining room into a sacred space for the ceremony. The whole time in Calgary was a contrast to the solitary nature of my travels, and it was a welcome change of pace.

In search of Native rock art . . .

Following the wedding, I drove south from Calgary and spent several days in the Lethbridge area doing some research into aboriginal sacred sites in the area. Then I headed west via the Crowsnest (Hwy 3) heading for the Okanagan. In the Okanagan Valley, I took time to enjoy the fall wine festival and to look for aboriginal pictographs. Pictographs are paintings that are usually done in red ochre on rock faces. As it turned out, I had a great deal of success tasting different wines, but was not able to locate any of the pictographs in the area. I did, however, locate a rock where original pictographs have been brutally vadalized – chipped out of the rock and stolen or defaced by the addition of hideous graffiti. I spent one afternoon chasing down a pictograph site between Hedley and Keremeos, but with no success. I was using directions from a book which had been written in the 60′s and so some of the landmarks may have changed. The site I was looking for is called the Hedley Cave and I think I came close to it, but discovered it to be protected by two barbed wire fences. While I could have found a way around the fences, I did not want to trespass. From my earlier experience with the vandalization of pictography, I could understand why native cultures are so concerned with the preservation of these sacred sites.

I sampled wines from the northern part of the valley (Hunting Hawk Winery north of Armstrong) all the way through to the southern valley near Osoyoos. One of the interesting wineries I visited, Summerhill, has erected a concrete pyramid on the site, which they use to mature wines. I was very interested to learn that they also use the pyramid for meditation groups at high times during the pagan calendar such as the solstices. The pyramid has been carefully constructed and has no metal elements in it. Research with wine tasters indicates that the wines aged in the pyramid taste much better. While in the Okaganan Valley, I also stopped in to visit friends from my former days in the military, Wally and Paula Fry in Kelowna and Ron and Val Heuman in Vernon.

Moving west from the Okanagan Valley, I drove to Harrison Hot Springs and enjoyed a dip in the thermal pool. From there, I visited Vancouver and had the great pleasure of grocery shopping at the Granville Island Market. After a few days in the big city, I headed north towards Whistler hoping to find aboriginal pictographs in the Lillooet area near the Fraser River. In Lillooet, I was just cleaning up the morning dishes and Buster was outside the van soaking up some rays of sun when I heard a male voice speaking to my dog. I looked out and said hello to a fellow camper who was just passing by. In our conversation, we discovered a mutual intrigue with pictographs and this man, whose name is Michael, said he knew exactly where the pictographs were that I wanted to visit. That afternoon, we hiked along the BC Rail tracks and then tackled a 30 foot climb up steep rock scrabble and finally, I had an experience of pictographs. I would never have found them by myself. It is hard for me to describe my experience as I am still processing what happened to me several weeks later. Suffice it to say, I was deeply moved by what I saw. Many pictographs are painted during vision quests and I had a sense that I was viewing something very sacred. I later learned that the entire area around Lillooet has long been considered sacred. The geography of the area is mountainous and the climate is arid. Desert and mountains . . . hmmm. Sounds biblical to me and it came as no surprise that I underwent something of a wilderness experience during my time in that area. For more details about that experience, you will have to wait until I can speak more clearly about it. What I can say now is that it was a profound initiation of sorts and included angels and demons, dreams and visions.

Michael had learned about another pictograph site in the midst of the Marble Canyon and so we headed off in that direction. He also took me to see the remains of an ancient native village at Keatley Creek. I found it very difficult to leave the area even though my next destination was Edmonton for my doctoral convocation.

I arrived in Edmonton on Sunday October 20 and spent most of that day greeting my friends and family who had journeyed to celebrate with me. A group of us went for dinner at one of my favourite Edmonton restaurants–The Bistro Praha. As it turns out, several of my cousins from Calgary were able to join in the great party (we had already practiced together at the wedding in September). Later that evening, my father and Ron’s mother arrived. The convocation day was very busy and began with the Chancellor’s reception. This was followed by a luncheon and then each of the graduates was given time to present their work. The convocation itself was in the evening. As I sat there waiting to receive my new degree, I remembered my convocation from Queen’s Theological College just over 10 years ago. That celebration seemed like such a new beginning for me as I stepped out into a new career in ministry. By contrast, my doctoral convocation felt very much like a closure. I’m not sure I understand this completely, but I found it interesting when Leslie Gardner, one of my doctoral committee members, shared that it felt to her as though I had walked through a doorway and the door shut quickly behind me. I can say for sure that I feel like I am in the midst of an important transition–one that may bring about a complete transformation of who I am. Before I left on this Journey, many speculated that I would come back a different person. I believe this may be true.

Following the convocation, Ron and I spent a few days together with our parents. Before returning to BC, I stopped to visit an artist friend of Leslie’s named Jean Tait. Jean uses ancient symbols in her work and has visited many pictograph and petroglyph sites. By the way, a pictograph is painted on rock whereas a petroglyph is etched into the stone. We had a wonderful conversation, and she suggested I begin keeping a visual journal. After spending a couple of days in the Lillooet area, I journeyed west towards Vancouver, stopping for a few days in Porteau Cove Provincial Park just south of Squamish. During the passage through the mountain pass, I had a soul-trembling spiritual experience–a feeling of being completely lost. Again, I haven’t completely processed this experience, but believe me when I say some monumental shift is happening at all levels of my being. At one point in the journey, blinded by tears, I pulled off the road. Bolting from the van, I dropped on my knees beside a river and cried out from the depth of my soul for help from God. Just then, I noticed a tepee had been constructed on the other side of the road, and then two native men and their dogs appeared. Buster bolted from the van to investigate the canines. We talked briefly and then I decided to tackle the drive again. By the time I got to Porteau Cove, I was completely exhausted and very tired. I slept deeply that night and then awoke to an incredible surge of creative energy. I drove into Squamish and purchased some art paper and began to paint. I was using a pictograph image and a set of children’s paints and crayons. I’m not sure what will come of this, but what is important at this stage is the release, healing, and restoration I felt as I painted. My work was supervised by a funny little chipmunk who was very interested in the stone circle I had erected on my campsite.

After several days of re-creation in Porteau Cove, I journeyed to Vancouver where I am located at present. While I can draw upon the resources of the UBC library, I hope to do more research into pictographs and may begin writing an article which draws together the phenomenon of mysterious writing and writing on rocks including pictographs, the mysterious writing on the wall from Daniel, and teenage graffiti, especially the kind found on freight trains. I believe there are times when such writings speak a truth that is divinely inspired.

Well, that’s it for now. If you are a praying person, please pray for me in this time of transition. The photo edition of the travelogue contains pictures of pictographs and some of the magnificent scenery from the Lillooet/Marble Canyon area. From here, I will be heading to Stein Valley (near Lytton, BC) to search for more pictographs and then back down to the southern Okanagan to try to gain access to the Hedley Caves. From there, perhaps it will be time to turn south to the US and warmer climates.